In Which the Family Takes a Trip
by Miss Klutz
Summary: Discontinued.... After much pestering, Howl agrees to take Sophie and Michael on a tour of the mysterious place called Wales. Set in between the first and second books. SophiexHowl. Read and Review!
1. In Which the Trip Begins

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Howl's Moving Castle, because if I did I would not need to put up a disclaimer and some witty sentence about how if I did own it I would be blah, blah, blah. (Though I must admit, those witty sentences are fun to come up with)

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In Which the Family Takes a Trip

Howl was waiting impatiently downstairs, sitting at the workbench and drumming his fingers on the table. He was waiting for Sophie and Michael to come downstairs. It was ten o'clock and unusually Howl had been up since 7:30, spending only two hours in the bathroom to prepare for the day. But Michael and Sophie had not been up as early as he had been, so they were now probably only rubbing the sleep from their eyes, but none the less excited about the day. At least, Howl hoped they were as excited about today as he was.

Normally a trip to Wales would not excite him this much, because normally a trip to Wales meant seeing Megan and listen to her nag and complain. But today they didn't have any plan to see Megan, or any of Howl's relatives for that matter. Today they were just touring the town that Howl's family lived in. Sophie and Michael had only been to Wales once, and Howl didn't think that was a very happy experience. It had been when they all went to retrieve the enlargement spell and to find the rest of the poem by John Donne.

Howl sighed and rested his head on his hand, which was propped up on his elbow which was on the table. He looked over at Calcifer, who was not in the grate at the moment. Calcifer had been angry at Howl for not letting him come with them, even though Howl had explained to him again and again that the people there weren't used to see falling stars up close, and the same with Fire Demons for that matter. So Calcifer had mumbled some things and hadn't talked to Howl since yesterday, but Howl had heard him eagerly asking Michael and Sophie to tell him what was out there, but trying not to sound to eager. Howl snickered at the thought.

Howl was brought back to the attention of the real world when he heard Michael coming downstairs. He looked as if he had just gotten up half an hour ago, but he looked excited and a little impatient himself. "Sorry," he said to Howl when he entered the room. "That I overslept."

Howl turned around on the bench to face him. "It's alright. Do you know if Sophie's up, though?" he asked, eyeing the stairs to see if Sophie might be coming down them while he was saying that. But the stairs remained quiet and empty.

Michael shook his head. "No, the room seemed pretty quiet, though. But she could be up and just be being really quiet," he suggested, but Howl could tell he didn't think that was true.

"Well, I better go check," he said, getting up and walking to and up the stairs. He tiptoed as he neared their room. If she was still asleep, he wanted the pleasure of waking her up, and did not want it to be ruined if he woke her up by making a racket while walking into the room. So he crept towards the closed door and pushed it open slightly, peeping his head in to take a look.

Sophie was lying on the bed with her back towards him, her breathing even and rhythmic. So she is still asleep, Howl concluded, and tiptoed into the room and up behind her. "Sophie…" he whispered. Nothing. He got closer "Sophie…" he repeated, but Sophie kept sleeping. He leaned over the bed towards her, and tugged at a lock of her hair. "Sophie!" he said strongly, though still in a whisper.

Sophie groaned and turned over to face Howl, though she still had her eyes closed. "What is it Howl?" she asked groggily, sleepily swatting his hand away from his hair.

Howl grinned. "Are you going to sleep all day and miss the trip?" he asked her.

One of her eyes opened and she looked at Howl. "What time is it? You said we would leave at 10:30. So if—"

"But Sophie dear, it's 10:10. You've slept in," he said, and laughed a bit when she opened both eyes and sat up, alert.

"You're joking, right? It can't be that late," she asked, rubbing her eyes.

"Yes, it is. I've been waiting down there for you and Michael, just wasting the day away…" he said, frowning. Sophie jumped out of bed and hurried away to get changed, while Howl flopped back on the bed and closed his eyes. "_Getting up at 7:30"_, he thought, _"hard work…" _And he took this time to relax, even though he hadn't been doing anything stressful for the past three hours.

Something hit him on the arm. He opened his eyes to see Sophie standing at the side of the bed, dressed and grinning. "Who's sleeping now?" she joked, and ran downstairs, and Howl heard her say to Michael, "Howl will be down. _He_ was just resting," she said in a joking, mocking tone.

Howl smiled a bit and followed Sophie downstairs. Calcifer had returned to the hearth, and was blazing up bright even though he wasn't coming with them. Howl rubbed his hands together. "Are we ready to go?" He asked them. They both nodded. "Then let's move out!" he said and moved towards the door, changing the knob to black down. "You don't have to move the castle that much today Calcifer. We'll be back tonight," he called back to Calcifer before walking into the nothingness, and setting foot into another world**.  
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**A/N:** Okay, so I wound up having this idea and then I ran out of ideas just when the walked through the door. So instead of just prolonging the time until I put it up on Fanfic, I decided to make it chapters! Please review!


	2. In Which Wales is Entered

** Sorry about the posting mistake! I put it up when I was tired and wasn't paying attention... Here's the right chapter!  
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**A/N: **To all my readers: Thanks for the comments! They inspired me to keep writing. Hopefully this chapter will be longer than the last one.

So I've only been to Wales once, and that was only a day trip and I was to young to remember anything but the fact that I was the first one to step over the line into Wales, and spent the rest of the day proudly declaring I was the first one in the family to step into Wales. Anyway, back on topic… I also have decided to make up a town for Howl's family to live in, because they never said a name in the book and it would be to much work to Google a bunch of towns and read up about them. (And in case you're wondering about the name, I looked at a map of Wales and picked two city names I like and combined them. Original, aren't I?)

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Chapter 2- In Which Howl, Sophie, and Michael enter Wales 

Sophie grinned in excitement as she stepped through the door and into the nothingness. She experienced the same sensation of walking through the colorless, heatless, until she passed through it, as it was only inch thick.

She looked around. It was not drizzling as it was the first time she had been to "Wales." It was a bright and sunny summer day, but it wasn't very hot. Howl was already at the gate, waiting for her and Michael to come join him. Michael came a second or two after Sophie, nearly colliding with her. They both walked down to Howl at the gate. He smiled at them, before turning around and opening the gate, walking out. His and Michael's clothes had changed, and Sophie could tell hers had too because she felt her legs incased in something stiff and tight. She looked down and saw the tight blue things that were surrounding her legs. Her shirt had, if you could call it a shirt, no sleeves and was just held up by two strips of fabric that went over her shoulder. Howl was wearing the same jacket with the same strange words on it that read: WELSH RUGBY, and had the same blue things around his legs, but his and Michaels were much baggier and looked more comfortable to walk in.

"What are we wearing?" She asked as they walked towards the white box at the end of the yellow house, barely able to bend her knee.

"This is what most people wear here," Howl replied, opening the door to the box. Sophie gulped. It was that horseless carriage again, and it seemed like Howl was going to put them in it again and give them all near death experiences. Howl noticed that both Michael and Sophie were eyeing the car wearily. "Don't worry you two, I've got my license," he said simply, and got into the car.

Michael and Sophie were not quite sure what he meant by that, but they got into the back seat, somewhat unwillingly, but neither of them wanted to miss seeing Wales. Howl smiled and the horseless carriage began to move backwards, then forwards at a fast speed. Sophie made herself trust Howl enough so that she wouldn't hold on to dear life this ride, though occasionally when they hit a bump she would grab the seat.

As with the first time they had driven in the horseless carriage, it was over fast. Sophie believed that the reason of the was that it went a terrifyingly fast speed, but she was much too happy to get out of the carriage that she didn't think much about it. They had all stepped out of the car and Michael and Sophie were looking around them as Howl had begun to walk down the side of the road. Michael and Sophie followed.

They were walking down a flat road that was bordered by what seemed like stores that had two stories. The street wasn't as crowded as it would be in Market Chipping, but there were a reasonable amount of people walking about. When the group passed by people, Sophie could make out snatches of what they were saying. She could understand some sentences, and some were in that foreign talk that she had heard Mari and Howl talking in.

Seeming to sense the question rising I Sophie, Howl began to talk. "Welcome to Crick Well! A small little town, but a nice on, none the less," he said it simply, and it sounded as if he preferred Porthaven or Kingsbury or Market Chipping. "If you hear people talking in an unfamiliar language, its Welsh," he explained, nodding a hello to a passerby. They turned a corner into a more crowded town center. Howl pushed through the crowd confidently, with Sophie and Michael trailing close behind so as not to get lost. "How about some brunch?" Howl called back, with a quick glance over his shoulder. He stepped out of the crowd and into a small shop. Sophie and Michael followed quickly.

The shop had a layout like Cesari's, but it had more places to sit. The three walked over to a table with four seats. Howl sat down on the right with Sophie next to him and Michael across from Howl. A perky girl who looked about fifteen walked up to them. "What can I get you guys?" she asked.

"Three teas, please," Howl answered, smiling at the rhyme.

"Coming right up," the girl said, scribbling something on a piece of paper and handing the three of the little booklets before walking away.

Howl, who was looking ever so arrogant at being the only one who seemed to know what was going on, took his booklet and opened it up, his eyes flickering back and forth down the page. Sophie and Michael followed his lead, picking up their own booklets and reading them. Luckily it wasn't in "Welsh" so they could understand it.

"So, pick what you want to eat, then tell the waitress when she comes back," Howl explained to them, putting down his booklet.

When the girl came back with the tea and took their orders, Howl ordered an omelet, Michael ordered fried eggs and bacon, and Sophie ordered French toast because she thought that it has sounded interesting. Conversation over breakfast was mainly questions and answers, and Howl managed to tell them what they could and couldn't do in Wales, because it seemed they had different customs than those in Ingary.

"First, and one of the most important," Howl said in between bites of omelet. They had been given their food and Sophie and Michael quite enjoyed their meals. The French toast was very delicious, and Sophie loved the sugary syrup that the girl gave her to put on it. "Don't talk about Ingary in front of other people. Not too many people know about it here." Michael and Sophie both nodded. The breakfast continued on like this, until everyone was done and full from their meals. The girl brought over the piece of paper she had been writing on before. Howl grimaced.

"Here you go sir," she said, handing him the paper and walking away. Howl frowned.

"Forgot to get money… hmm…" Howl mumbled, looking over the paper. He muttered a couple words under his breath and some coins and slips of paper appeared in his hand. He handed them to the girl as she came back to collect it, and stood up to leave. "That's another thing" he said as they left the store and headed back into the crowd. "Try not to use magic. I only used it because I didn't have money," he said quickly as Sophie was about to say something. "But if you must use magic, don't let people see it. That means no talking to inanimate objects," he said looking at Sophie. "And no practicing spells," he said to Michael. Then he smiled. "Now let's do some sightseeing!" he exclaimed, and dived into the crowd.

Howl took them to see the park first. They saw a statue of a man on a horse, a little pond with brightly colored fish, a small flower garden, and were about to leave the park to see other things in Crick Well when they ran into another crowed. It seemed like there were crowds of people on either side of a walking path, and walking down the path were a line of people marching, dancing, playing music, and some just walking.

"Ah. I was wondering why there was such a crowd in the center. Must have been the parade…" Howl was muttering to himself, as he began walking through the crowd trying to find a way through to the other side of the walking path.

Sophie found the parade fascinating. She watched all the people in colorful clothes dance, and the people in green and white beat drums and sound trumpets play music. She watched Howl out of the corner of her eye so she wouldn't get lost in the crowd, and hoped Michael was following because she couldn't see him, but assumed he was standing on her right side, her head now turned to the parade on the left so she couldn't see him.

They crowd finally began to thin and they reached a point where there was no parade, and the people either began to follow the parade or go about their business. Sophie turned and smiled wide at Howl, then looked around to see what Michael thought of the parade. He wasn't there.

Sophie's smile faded as she turned around looking for him, but she couldn't see him anywhere. "Howl! Where'd he go! He got lost, we have to find him, what if…" she said quickly, but trailed off when she saw Howl was grinning at her. She eyed him. "What?" she asked slowly.

Howl grinned "You worry too much. Have some fun! Michael will be fine, don't worry" he said, and held out his arm to her. "Care to take a stroll with me?" he asked and smiled dazzlingly at her. She took his arm and they began to stroll through the park, Sophie vaguely wondering whether Howl had split with Michael on purpose.

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A/N:** Okay, sorry for the delay between chapters. I'll try to get the next one out soon… And sorry if about halfway through the characters got OoC, because I had stopped writing it about halfway and was reading a bunch of fanfics for a different thing, so the characters might have merged… Review! 


	3. In Which Michael Meets Some New Friends

**A/N: Sorry for the delay, I've been kinda busy with homework and what not… Anyway, thanks for the reviews, and here is chapter 3!**

**Oh, and I'm sorry if the characters are horrible OoC, due to the number of Doctor Who fanfics I've been reading recently. If I mention a '****TARDIS****' please ignore it. **

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In Which Michael Meets Some New Friends 

Michael, who had been sure he was following Howl and Sophie, was now hopelessly lost in the thinning crowd of strange other-world foreigners. He looked around for the familiar sleek black hair of Howl's (he had died it black today), or the waves of Sophie's red gold hair. He couldn't see either.

There was now hardly a crowd now, the parade having past and being farther down the road. Michael's eyes widened as he embraced the fact that he was lost in another world He began to panic, what if he never got back? What if Howl and Sophie left without him? These thoughts were temporarily replaced with something that made him stop walking and stand still for a second. Howl and Sophie were _alone._ The past couple of weeks he had always walked into a room when it seemed that Howl was about to kiss Sophie, or was already doing so. He had taken to asking Calcifer to enter rooms before him, or just to steer clear of rooms he knew they were in.

So now he was lost, they were alone, and he had no idea how to get back to Ingary, or where his mentor's family lived. His panic returned.

He had been preoccupied with his thoughts so that he wasn't watching where he was going. He was staring at the ground because looking around made him feel more lost, when he bumped into someone. The person began to chatter in the foreign talk Howl had called 'Welsh" he stammered. "Oh, sorry I don't…" Michael began, not sure the man would be able to understand him. The man stopped talking.

Looking at him now, he wasn't so much of a man but seemed to be about Michael's age. He was a couple inches taller than he was, with short, brown untidy hair. "You English?" The boy asked in the language Michael could understand, though he did not comprehend what he meant by his words.

"Uh… No," he answered, not sure of what to say.

The boy eyed his strangely, but before he could say anything else, another boy ran up to the one Michael had bumped into and said, "Hey Russ, let's go!" He looked at Michael, then back at Russ. "James and Tom are waiting," and began to walk past them towards another street. Russ gave a quick nod to Michael and turned and began to jog to catch up with the other boy, who walked pretty fast.

Michael, who did not want to be lost again in Wales, ran behind them. "Hey wait!" he called out to them. "Can you help me? I'm looking for…" but he didn't finish his sentence, because he had lost sight of the two boys. They had turned down a street only a couple people were walking down, and instead of the buildings being shops they looked more like houses. Michael frowned and continued down the street.

"Hey, are you following us?" Michael turned to look where the voice had come from, and he saw the two boys from before and two others, all walking towards him.

"I was just going to ask if you'd seen—" He began, but Russ cut him off.

"Hey, I've seen you around before. Just moved here, huh? Guess you wanted us to help you fit in, right?" Michael was going to answer, but it seemed that this group had a habit of stopping other people from talking.

"Well, we've got nothing to do today. I guess we could help, what do you say, Tom?" Asked the second boy Michael had seen earlier. Michael was about to say something when:

"I'm James and this is Tom, Russ and Jack. And you're?" James asked. Michael had just about given up even trying to speak when suddenly they were expecting it of him.

"I'm Michael, but I wasn't—" he had begun, but once again he had been cut off by Jack this time.

"Michael, welcome to Crick Well. We'll teach you some tricks of the trade to making it around here."

"We have many ways," Tom picked up, "to help someone gain status here." Michael was reminded or twins finishing each other's sentences the way these boys talked.

"But the number one trick we find works this most," continued Russ.

"Is girls." All three of them said it at once, and before Michael could do anything they were pushing him back up the street and onto the path lined with stores, knowing where they were going and pushing along Michael who hadn't a clue. What surprised Michael most was how easily he'd been accepted by this group. He had only said… what, thirteen words to these guys (he had to pause in his thoughts to go back and count), and they had already assumed he had just moved into the town and wanted them to help get his status here. He hoped he wasn't being lured into one big practical joke.

Of course, what was going on in the minds of the boys was, _wow, this guy was easy to get in our grip! He won't stand the girl test… _They were towing Michael towards where the girls in the town liked to hang out. They were thinking they could get some fun out of seeing the guy who couldn't get a word into a conversation with them squirm in front of a bunch of girls. This could just make their day.

But these boys were wrong. When they had reached the town center where a bunch of girls were running around or sitting and talking on benches, and pushed Michael up to them, he seemed perfectly fine and not uncomfortable. Russ, Jack, Tom and James could not understand why, and Michael didn't understand the point of going to talk to a bunch of girls. He already had Martha, and Sophie was living with them now. He had no need to feel uncomfortable.

Suddenly, everything clicked into place for Michael. "Oh, so the way to get status in this town is to have a _girlfriend._" He said, putting emphasis on girlfriend.

The guys looked at him blankly. "What do you not like girls?" Tom asked, making the other guys snigger, but Michael did not catch what he had said.

"No, but I already have a girlfriend," Michael told them, and the tables were turned: Michael now watched with a little smile at the look of disbelieve passing over their faces.

"We now _all _the girls here. What's her name?" Jack asked, retrieving his cool, calm and collected atmosphere.

"She doesn't live here. She lives… where I come from," Michael wasn't sure it was a good idea to mention Ingary, everyone would probably think that he was mad. "Her name's Martha."

The four boys exchanged quick looks, the fact that Michael had a girlfriend changing their opinions of him. "Michael," Russ began. "Sorry about these guys. They can be so immature…"

**Thanks for reading! I'll try and get the next chapter up fairly soon…**


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